Commercial Jams, Jellies, and Preserves

[Shalmanese]

11 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

Thank you for the recommendation. I haven't hear of emmy's jam so I'm adding them to the list.

 

Frog Hollow, meh. I sampled their jams (including the apricot) at the ferry building. The texture put me off - very large pieces of fruit in syrup essentially. I know Ferber does some of her recipes that way, but it's not my preference. I love Frog Hollow's fruit and fruit tarts though! These are fabulous.

 

Ah, I'm a big fan of the giant chunks of fruit approach so we might be looking for different things in our jams. My feeling is that I can always make my jam more pureed with judicious application of a knife but never less.

[FrogPrincesse]

3 hours ago, Shalmanese said:

 

Ah, I'm a big fan of the giant chunks of fruit approach so we might be looking for different things in our jams. My feeling is that I can always make my jam more pureed with judicious application of a knife but never less.

 

To clarify- large pieces of fruit are fine, but in that case they were surrounded by a clear syrup. I am more used to jams where you don't have this clear and thin syrup because some of the fruit has broken down and makes the jam thicker. Otherwise it doesn't really feel like jam to me, more like fruit poached in syrup (the Ferber apricot jam is exactly like that, and Frog Hollow seemed to be in that general style based on the small sample I had).

Edited October 23, 2016 by FrogPrincesse (log)

[MelissaH]

I've never quite gotten the "fruit chunks in clear syrup" as "jam" (to me, meaning something to spread on toast, or between layers of a cake, or heck! on a slice of day-old toasted pound cake. My first instinct, if I were to buy a jar and discover it was of this type, would be to throw the entire contents in my blender and make it a bit more homogenous. As it is, it might work (for me, anyway) as something to pour on a pancake instead of maple syrup, or possibly to put on ice cream. How is this style of jam intended to be used? What's the advantage, other than personal preference?

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is an interesting documentary about jam (in French), covering its various aspects including an annual jam festival/competition, small-scale artisanal methods (Christine Ferber makes an appearance), and large-scale industrial production.

 

 

[ElainaA]

I use a lot of Ferber's recipes but i also dislike the "big hunks of fruit" result. So it either chop or puree the fruit and then continue with the recipe. And the results are, (do far at least) wonderful/

[FrogPrincesse]

I prefer smaller chunks myself, so I just slice the fruit a bit thinner than what she calls for in her recipes. But it really depends on the size of the fruit. If you use small apricots and cut them in half, it works out fine, but if they are large obviously you need to cut them further.

 

Here is a local jam, Waters Catering's Meyer lemon vanilla bean "marmalade". I used the quotation marks because it is runny unlike a traditional marmalade, not jewel-clear, also less caramelized. But you know what, it is delicious. The Meyers lemons are great in there, they are bright, slightly tart, with a flavor that reminds a bit of bergamot and that is anchored by the vanilla.

 

 

Edited October 31, 2016 by FrogPrincesse
format (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Here is Christine Ferber telling the story of her jam business (in French), why she decided to stay in her native village, and her future plans. She talks about her rhubarb, raspberry, and wild rose hip jams, and how she goes about creating new jams.

 

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Rachel Saunders of Blue Chair Fruit making a strawberry, blood orange, and rosemary marmalade.

 

 

[FrogPrincesse]

Interesting... The Blue Chair Jam Company is for sale, with the sale currently pending. $225 000 for $280 000 in gross revenue.

http://www.bizbuysell.com/Business-Opportunity/Blue-Chair-Fruit-Jam-Company-for-Sale/1294604/

[FrogPrincesse]

Interview with June Taylor where you can see her at work.

 

 

In this other video she is making blood orange marmalade.

http://www.chowhound.com/videos/obsessives/obsessives-marmalade

 

Edited November 22, 2016 by FrogPrincesse (log)